In addition to an enhancement bonus, armor may have special abilities. Special abilities usually count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of an item, but do not improve AC. A suit of armor cannot have an effective bonus (enhancement plus special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +10. A suit of armor with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

A suit of armor or a shield may be made of an unusual material. Roll d%: 01–95 indicates that the item is of a standard sort, and 96–100 indicates that it is made of a special material.

Armor is always created so that even if the type of armor comes with boots or gauntlets, these pieces can be switched for other magic boots or gauntlets.

Table: Armor and Shields

Minor

Medium

Major

Item

Base Price

01–60

01–05

—

+1 shield

1,000 gp

61–80

06–10

—

+1 armor

1,000 gp

81–85

11–20

—

+2 shield

4,000 gp

86–87

21–30

—

+2 armor

4,000 gp

—

31–40

01–08

+3 shield

9,000 gp

—

41–50

09–16

+3 armor

9,000 gp

—

51–55

17–27

+4 shield

16,000 gp

—

56–57

28–38

+4 armor

16,000 gp

—

—

39–49

+5 shield

25,000 gp

—

—

50–57

+5 armor

25,000 gp

—

—

—

+6 armor/shield1

36,000 gp

—

—

—

+7 armor/shield1

49,000 gp

—

—

—

+8 armor/shield1

64,000 gp

—

—

—

+9 armor/shield1

81,000 gp

—

—

—

+10 armor/shield1

100,000 gp

88–89

58–60

58–60

Specific armor2

—

90–91

61–63

61–63

Specific shield3

—

92–100

64–100

64–100

Special ability and roll again4

—

Armor and shields can’t actually have bonuses this high. Use these lines to determine price when special abilities are added in.

The caster level of a magic shield or magic armor with a special ability is given in the item description. For an item with only an enhancement bonus, the caster level is three times the enhancement bonus. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met.

Shield enhancement bonuses stack with armor enhancement bonuses. Shield enhancement bonuses do not act as attack or damage bonuses when the shield is used in a bash. The bashing special ability, however, does grant a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls (see the special ability description).

A shield could be built that also acted as a magic weapon, but the cost of the enhancement bonus on attack rolls would need to be added into the cost of the shield and its enhancement bonus to AC.

As with armor, special abilities built into the shield add to the market value in the form of additions to the bonus of the shield, although they do not improve AC. A shield cannot have an effective bonus (enhancement plus special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +10. A shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

Usually a character benefits from magic armor and shields in exactly the way a character benefits from nonmagical armor and shields—by wearing them. If armor or a shield has a special ability that the user needs to activate then the user usually needs to utter the command word (a standard action).

Most magic armor and shields only have enhancement bonuses. Such items can also have one or more of the special abilities detailed below. Armor or a shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

There is no limit to the enhancement bonus of epic magic armor or shields, to the market price modifier of epic magic armor or shield special abilities, or to the total enhancement bonus and market price modifier of epic magic armor or shields.

To find the base price of an epic suit of magic armor or an epic magic shield, roll on Table: Armor and Shields. Note that the +6 to +10 rows apply only to armor and shields that provide an enhancement bonus of +6 to +10 or armor and shields with a single special ability whose market price modifier is +6 to +10. Magic armor and shields with a total effective bonus of +6 to +10 but that have an enhancement bonus of +5 or less and special abilities whose individual market price modifiers are +5 or less use the table for nonepic magic armorto determine price.

Table: Armor and Shields

d%

Enhancement Bonus

Market Price

01

+1 shield1

+1,000 gp

02

+1 armor2

+1,000 gp

03

+2 shield1

+4,000 gp

04

+2 armor2

+4,000 gp

05–06

+3 shield1

+9,000 gp

07–08

+3 armor2

+9,000 gp

09–12

+4 shield1

+16,000 gp

13–16

+4 armor2

+16,000 gp

17–21

+5 shield1

+25,000 gp

22–26

+5 armor2

+25,000 gp

27–30

+6 shield

+360,000 gp

31–34

+6 armor

+360,000 gp

35–38

+7 shield

+490,000 gp

39–42

+7 armor

+490,000 gp

43–45

+8 shield

+640,000 gp

46–48

+8 armor

+640,000 gp

49–50

+9 shield

+810,000 gp

51–52

+9 armor

+810,000 gp

53–54

+10 shield

+1,000,000 gp

55–56

+10 armor

+1,000,000 gp

57–62

Specific armor or shield3

63–75

Armor with special ability and roll again4

76–98

Shield with special ability and roll again4

99

Epic shield5

100

Epic armor5

Roll also on nonepic magic item Table: Shield Special Abilities.

Roll also on nonepic magic item Table: Armor Special Abilities.

Roll on Table: Specific Epic Magic Armor and Shields.

Roll on Table: Armor Special Abilities or Table: Shield Special Abilities.

Roll on Table: Epic Armor and Shields.

Table: Epic Armor and Shields

d%

Enhancement Bonus

Market Price

01–21

+11

+1,210,000 gp

22–39

+12

+1,440,000 gp

40–54

+13

+1,690,000 gp

55–66

+14

+1,960,000 gp

67–76

+15

+2,250,000 gp

77–84

+16

+2,560,000 gp

85–90

+17

+2,890,000 gp

91–94

+18

+3,240,000 gp

95–97

+19

+3,610,000 gp

98–99

+20

+4,000,000 gp

100

Roll again and add +10 to bonus1

2

This is cumulative if rolled multiple times.

For enhancement bonuses higher than +20, the market price modifier is equal to the square of the bonus ×10,000 gp.

Most magic armor and shields only have enhancement bonuses. Such items can also have special abilities, such as those detailed below and nonepic abilities. Armor or a shield with a special ability must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.

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